Last night at our San Francisco headquarters, we helped our local nonprofit partners, Simply the Basics, host a unique event that was certainly a first for our office. Equal parts stand-up comedy show, open mic, and donation drive for feminine hygiene products, the “Period Party” drew four times the expected crowd and raised nearly $7,000 by the end of the night.

“We’re excited to partner with Simply the Basics for this event and by volunteering throughout the year because we believe in the power of building and supporting communities,” said Farah Kassam, Reddit’s Director of Talent Development.

“When we relocated Reddit’s headquarters to our new office space in the Tenderloin, it was really important for all of us to participate in and contribute to our local community. This event was a unique way for us to raise awareness about Simply the Basics’ critical work.”

Simply the Basics founder Meghan Freebeck kicked off the event by clarifying exactly what type of Period Party attendees should expect.

“A lot of people said, ‘Oh, what period?’ Like they thought it would be a time period party,” she joked, before stressing the critical need for feminine hygiene products among women experiencing homelessness and how Simply the Basics helps through hygiene banks.

Freebeck then gave a shoutout to the Reddit employees who have been volunteering with Simply the Basics since we relocated our office to the Tenderloin.

“Reddit is a phenomenal partner of ours. They are constantly collecting products for us, they support us, [and] they are in our neighborhood.”

After delving into the specific programs that Simply the Basics facilitates (which you can read more about here), Freebeck stressed that improving menstrual hygiene for those experiencing homelessness includes reducing stigma around menstruation in the first place. With that, she introduced the headliner, comedian Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, for the first of the evening’s many, many period stories.

“I do believe that we have to reduce stigma by talking about this,” she said. “Menstruation is not any different from having the flu.”

Lakshminarayanan went on to recall how she reduced stigma within her own family, with her physicist father in particular evolving from being uncomfortable discussing “anything about women or bodies or anything like that” to sending his daughter two cases of panty liners when asked to give her a “practical” gift.

Three more comedians followed Lakshminarayanan with personal tales of their “first and worst periods” everywhere from school to a swimming pool, after which they opened the stage to any attendee who felt like sharing.

“It was great to see how many women not only came to the event but also decided to share their stories because they wanted to be a part of reducing the stigma,” said Kassam after the event.

“We were blown away by the turnout and all the donations, and can’t wait to partner with Simply the Basics for more events and volunteer opportunities in the future.”